Patents Examined by Blake Riddick
  • Patent number: 9964663
    Abstract: An apparatus having: one or more infrared imagers capable of detecting light having wavelengths of 8-10 microns and 20-22 microns and a window transparent to light having wavelengths of 8-10 microns and 20-22 microns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignees: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
    Inventors: Kenneth J. Ewing, Jasbinder S. Sanghera, Kevin J. Major
  • Patent number: 9960124
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, a mixed signal integrated circuit is provided that includes both a digital portion and an analog portion. A shield is provided that overlays one of the digital portion or the analog portion of the mixed signal integrated circuit. The shield limits propagation of signals between the digital portion and the analog portion of the mixed signal integrated circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: James Wilson Rose, Oliver Richard Astley, Donna Marie Sherman, Jonathan David Short
  • Patent number: 9939387
    Abstract: An optical inspection apparatus 1 includes a light radiation unit 11 configured to radiate light to an article 50, a light detection unit 12 configured to detect transmitted light of the light radiated to the article 50, and a support unit 13 configured to support the light radiation unit 11 and the light detection unit 12 in a cantilever manner. An inspection region of the article 50 by the light is exposed to an ambient atmosphere.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: Ishida Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsutomu Okamoto, Emi Mizuno, Yoshinori Tarumoto
  • Patent number: 9933296
    Abstract: A passive infrared motion detection sensor that includes a Fresnel focusing arrangement that creates at least a first infrared sensing region, a second infrared sensing region, and a third infrared sensing region, in which target detection in one or more infrared sensing regions is weighted to be distinguishable from target detection in remaining infrared sensing regions. The Fresnel focusing arrangement creates the weighted infrared sensing regions using a lenslet region, an optically opaque region and a plurality of extruded cylindrical lenslets that extend across a portion of both the lenslet region and the optically opaque region. The signal detection in at least the second weighted infrared sensing region, for example, an infrared sensing range between 6 and 10 feet, is weighted to easily distinguish between a pet within the second infrared sensing range and a person at any infrared sensing range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
    Inventors: Anurag Gupta, Aveek Ravishekhar Purohit
  • Patent number: 9915566
    Abstract: A system is provided that includes a security system that protects a secured area, a passive infrared (PIR) detector of the security system that detects intruders within the secured area, a pyroelectric element carried by the PIR detector, the pyroelectric element being tilted downwards towards a floor within the secured area to receive and detect a predominant portion of energy from an area extending outwards from the PIR detector and directly in front of the PIR detector and a relatively small portion of energy from a floor area directly below the PIR detector, and a pivoting door having first and second positions mounted below and directly adjacent the pyroelectric element, the door pivoting upwards to the first position where the relatively small portion of energy is blocked and pivoting downwards where the relatively small portion of energy is transmitted onto the pyroelectric element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Yutao Ni, Lei Qin, Haidong Xu
  • Patent number: 9895558
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a voxel-type block phantom for a multifunctional radiation measurement apparatus. A phantom, for adjusting an amount of radiation, has solid pixel blocks, having a radiation measuring device equipped therein and different media and densities from one another, assembled on top of one another so as to be assembled into a 3-dimensional voxel, wherein the phantom is formed by placing a solid block which is appropriate for a density that corresponds to each pixel of the 3-dimensional voxel. An inspector can personally and instantly customize a phantom that is appropriate for a subject to be measured and thus can obtain an accurate measurement value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF KOREA INDUSTRY—ACADEMIC COOPERATION FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Do Kun Yoon, Joo Young Jung, Tae Suk Suh
  • Patent number: 9897546
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device (12; 72) for optically measuring fluorescence of nucleic acids in test samples (14). The device (12; 72) comprises a plurality of sample wells (32) each for receiving an upright sample tube (16) made of a transparent material, having a side wall (20) and a bottom end (22) and containing one of the test samples (14) together with at least one fluorescent dye, at least one excitation light source (24; 74, 76, 78, 80) disposed in the vicinity of each sample well (32) for directing an excitation light beam through the side wall (20) of the sample tube (16) into the test sample (14) for exciting the dye, and an optical fluorescence detector (28) disposed underneath the bottom end (22) of each sample tube (16) for capturing fluorescence emitted from the dye in the test sample (14) upon excitation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: Hain Lifescience GmbH
    Inventor: James Courtney
  • Patent number: 9891111
    Abstract: A thermowell assembly for measuring a process temperature includes an elongate thermowell having a proximal end and a distal end. A bore extends between the two ends with the thermowell assembly configured to extend into a process fluid. An infrared sensor detects infrared radiation from the distal end through the bore of the thermowell and responsively provides a sensor output. A configuration is provided in which infrared radiation received by the infrared sensor from a wall of the bore is reduced and or radiation received from the distal end of the bore is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Rosemount Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew John Kitzman, Sascha Ulrich Kienitz, Jason Harold Rud
  • Patent number: 9887339
    Abstract: An infrared sensor with a microstructure has a multiplicity of sensor rods protruding from a sensor base and arranged axially parallel to one another. Each of the sensor rods is designed as a thermocouple, in that a first rod end, arranged on the sensor base, is electrically connected to an opposite free second rod end by both a first and a second electrically conductive rod element. The two rod elements have a different Seebeck coefficient, and the first rod element is formed as a hollow profile and the second rod element is arranged in the first rod element such that each thermocouple is formed as a single rod with a small standing area on the sensor base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Harry Hedler, Ingo Kuehne, Markus Schieber, Joerg Zapf
  • Patent number: 9880291
    Abstract: The invention relates to a detecting unit for detecting ionizing radiation. The device comprises a converter unit for the amplification of ionizing radiation and a read-out unit, wherein the converter unit comprises a converter and a gas-electron multiplier, wherein said converter comprises a substrate with an ionizing radiation-receiving major surface and an electron-emitting major surface and a stack of accelerator plates in contact with the electron-emitting major side, wherein said stack comprises a plurality of perforated accelerator plates wherein the perforations of the perforated accelerator plates are aligned to form a matrix of blind holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: BEAMOCULAR AB
    Inventors: Kristofer Maad, Mauritz Andersson
  • Patent number: 9869781
    Abstract: Photomultipliers are disclosed which comprise circuitry for detecting photo electric events and generating short digital pulses in response. In one embodiment, the photomultipliers comprise solid state photomultipliers having an array of microcells. The microcells, in one embodiment, in response to incident photons, generate a digital pulse signal having a duration of about 2 ns or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sergei Ivanovich Dolinsky, Jianjun Guo
  • Patent number: 9864092
    Abstract: Disclosed herein methods for determining a property of a formation, for example, when well logging, by feeding a gadolinium tracer fluid into the formation, applying an emitted radiation to the formation to thereby produce a signal, such as a neutron signal, and capturing the signal from the formation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
    Inventors: Carlos Torres-Verdin, Erich Schneider
  • Patent number: 9864039
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a housing, one or more processors, and one or more proximity sensor components, each having an infrared signal receiver to receive an infrared emission from an object external to the housing. The proximity sensor component is disposed by a first aperture and a second aperture, the first aperture having a first axis oriented in a first direction and the second aperture having a second axis oriented in a second direction. Attenuation of infrared emissions can occur through one of the first aperture or the second aperture. The one or more processors can determine whether a received infrared emission is attenuated to detect whether the received infrared emission was received from the first direction or the second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC
    Inventors: Rachid M Alameh, Patrick J Cauwels, Paul Steuer
  • Patent number: 9847215
    Abstract: An environmental radiation detector for detecting and distinguishing between all types of environmental radiation, including photons, charged particles, and neutrons. A large volume high pressure ionization chamber (HPIC) includes BF3 gas at a specific concentration to render the radiation detector sensitive to the reactions of neutron capture in Boron-10 isotope. A pulse-mode readout is connected to the ionization chamber capable of measuring both the height and the width of the pulse. The heavy charged products of the neutron capture reaction deposit significant characteristic energy of the reaction in the immediate vicinity of the reaction in the gas, producing a signal with a pulse height proportional to the reaction energy, and a narrow pulse width corresponding to the essentially pointlike energy deposition in the gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: JEFFERSON SCIENCE ASSOCIATES, LLC
    Inventor: Pavel V. Degtiarenko
  • Patent number: 9841378
    Abstract: An imaging assembly and processing system that includes a sample platform having a target region which can hold a sample, where the sample can be marked with fluorescent or phosphorescent markers. The imaging assembly can have an excitation light module proximate to the sample platform that emits light to excite the markers, and a lens module positioned to receive emission light from excited markers in target region. At least one series filter assembly or interference filter can be arranged in front of, behind, or both in front of and behind the lens module. The assembly includes a light sensor and a processor and imaging module configured to process data captured by the light sensor. Images of the sample are generated based on the emission light from the sample that transmit through and are filtered by the lens assembly and series filter assembly or interference filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Evan Thrush, Steve Swihart, Neeraj Bhatt
  • Patent number: 9841511
    Abstract: Systems and devices are provided that relate to a gas-filled radiation detector with an internal optical fiber. The internal optical fiber may detect photons emitted during ionization avalanche events triggered by incident radiation. Such a radiation detector may include a housing, a fill gas within the housing, and an optical fiber within the housing. The fill gas may interact with radiation through an ionization avalanche that produces light. The optical fiber within the housing may capture the light and transmit the light out of the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Richard G Saenger
  • Patent number: 9829384
    Abstract: A long wave infrared imaging polarimeter (LWIP) is disclosed including a pixilated polarizing array (PPA) in close proximity to a microbolometer focal plane array (MFPA), along with an alignment engine for aligning and bonding the PPA and MFPA and method for assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Polaris Sensor Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: J Larry Pezzaniti, Justin Parker Vaden, Michael Ernest Roche
  • Patent number: 9797573
    Abstract: A luminous system comprising one or more illumination sources, a multilayer structure, and one or more diffuse reflection layers being optically decoupled from the multilayer structure, wherein the emission and the reflection of the luminous system produce a first observed visible color when the one or more illumination sources are powered and a second observed visible color when the one or more illumination sources are non-powered is disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of creating the inventive luminous system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: Performance Indicator, LLC
    Inventors: M. Glenn Horner, Edward D. Kingsley, Satish Agrawal, Louis Cincotta
  • Patent number: 9791370
    Abstract: Apparatuses and systems for a die-integrated aspheric mirror are described herein. One apparatus includes an ion trap die including a number of ion locations and an aspheric mirror integrated with the ion trap die.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: James Goeders, Matthew Edward Lewis Jungwirth, Terry Dean Stark
  • Patent number: 9786401
    Abstract: A collimating system (100) for collimating radiation received under different angles for performing tomography is described. The collimating system (100) comprises a static collimator (110) comprising a plurality of collimating apertures (112), shutters (120) for separately and temporarily shutting at least two of said collimating apertures (112), wherein the shutters (120) having a shutting element (122) for blocking said at least two collimating apertures (112), and at least one collimating element (140) distinct from the shutting element (122) for collimating radiation passing through non-shut collimating apertures (112) in a direction so as to control overlap between radiation stemming from different non-shut collimating apertures (112). The invention also relates to an imaging system comprising such a collimating system, a method for collimating and a corresponding controller and software related products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: UNIVERSITEIT GENT
    Inventors: Karel Deprez, Karen Van Audenhaege, Roel Van Holen, Stefaan Vandenberghe